


dais

by mayachain



Series: birthday!verse [60]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Birthday, M/M, Pandemics, Potions Master Severus Snape, Research, Secret Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:00:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28652406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mayachain/pseuds/mayachain
Summary: January 9th, 2021
Relationships: Remus Lupin/Severus Snape
Series: birthday!verse [60]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/6020
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11





	dais

**January 9th, 2021**

Severus looked up from his journal when the cup sitting to his left vanished with a soft _pop_. He waited a moment for something else to happen before going back to the article with a frown; so far, the author hadn’t told him anything new. Although… 

A year ago, when the virus had first sprung up, Chinese potions masters had quickly proven that a modified Pepper-Up was all that was needed, even if the modification required a specific strain of hellebore. A year into a pandemic in the Muggle World and the Wizarding World was still fine. However, as with so many diseases that had come before… the cure worked for wizards and witches only. 

That didn’t mean that Severus hadn’t been trying. It was utterly unacceptable that Remus had students who feared for their non-magical relatives. He had rarely brewed so much as he had during the past months. Never, during his second life. 

Pepper-Up could not even rid a Muggle of the Common Cold: Something else was needed, something which had not yet been found.

There had been potions masters more dedicated than Severus battling Muggle illnesses and pure-blood prejudice since before the Statute of Secrecy came along. Hence the _Potions Digest_ , which pooled the thoughts of brewers from around the world. The hellebore strain – 

There was a _pop_. Severus huffed and reached for the cup of hot chocolate _someone_ had sent to him all the way from Scotland.

Now. The hellebore strain Mistress Xu Yi had found had been discarded as a basis early on, but now it seemed that a group of potioneers in Guatemala were once again using it in their experimentation – 

Another _pop_. Severus shook his head; he’d half expected the piece of cake that now shone next to the saucer, but – was that a record of Professor Greengrass’ thoughts on the new vaccine?! Remus must love him.

He reached for his quill and reminded himself in the _Potions Digest_ ’s article’s margin to talk to Neville about all the different properties of every strain of hellebore under the sun. Then he seized the sheets of parchment and – was gone. 

When he next emerged, the hot chocolate had gone cold. He wanted nothing more than to floo to Hogwarts and pick his former student’s brain in person.

Anselme Aguilar was a curse breaker. Severus had not informed Daphne Greengrass that he was alive. He hadn’t informed _any_ of the potions masters he used to know. 

The war had been over for more than twenty years. Never had he come so close.

.


End file.
